Service Year Alliance partnered with Burning Glass Technologies to investigate the effects of service on participant's career and education outcomes. By comparing the resumes of service year alums with their peers, the report confirmed that service year alums are more likely to report having in-demand skills like research and leadership, and are much more likely to earn an undergraduate degree.

The major findings:

Service year programs promote Bachelor’s degree attainment. Those who participate in service year programs without a Bachelor’s degree are over twice as likely to go on to earn their bachelor’s degrees compared to a peer group with the equivalent years of work experience. A quarter (24%) of service year alumni who serve without a Bachelor’s degree ultimately attain that degree while 11% of an otherwise similar peer group earn a college degree after two years of work experience.

Service year alumni begin their careers in higher-paying roles than their peers in a variety of career areas. Service year alumni who begin their careers in community and social services do so in occupations with which typically have higher average salaries. For example, a greater proportion of service year alumni in this field work as social services managers, one of the highest paying roles in this career area, compared to their peers.

Service year alumni are more likely to advertise skills related to leadership and organization, which are commonly developed in service year programs. Research as a skill is cited on 40% of service year resumes and 25% of peer resumes; organizational skills, 40% compared to 24%; and planning, 25% compared to 23%.

The report, Pathways After Service, is available here.